Top 10 craziest musical collaborations

Over the years, there have been a whackload of odd collaborations that have left music fans scratching their heads, and in many instances, plugging their ears.

But that’s the beauty of the pop music partnership, which is not unlike any relationship. It either works or it doesn’t.

Take Elton John for instance, who has had quite a few musical marriages in his long career.

He paired up with Kiki Dee for the chart-topping 1976 hit "Don’t Go Breaking My Heart," was featured on John Lennon’s song "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night" a few years earlier, and, amid controversy, performed "Stan" with Eminem at the Grammys in 2001 (see our list below).

But it is his most recent pairing that has tongues wagging again. It was revealed that Sir Elton recorded a track with hard rockers Queens of the Stone Age for their upcoming new album, which is due out this year.

Will it be a match made in heaven? We’ll soon find out.

Here’s a rundown of the most bizarre musical pairings ever – for better, or for worse. (Add your personal favourites at the bottom of the page):

10. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and Phil Collins, "Home," 2003

Phil Collins attempted to get some street cred by lending samples of his hit 1985 tune, "Take Me Home," to the rappers. Heck, Phil even made an appearance in the video for the song, which was shot on the mean streets of, uh, Geneva Switzerland. We’re guessing they couldn’t convince him to do it in Cleveland (where the Grammy-winning band is from).

9. Joe Jonas and Lil Wayne, "Just in Love," 2011

Was Weezy feelin’ a little queezy? The A-List rapper decided to lend a few rhymes to the Disney star’s single from his solo debut. "Hey Joe, I got you/ Ain’t no love like the one I got/ I’m a prisoner of love/ Got my heart on lock," he raps.

He should have puff puff, passed.

8. James Brown and Luciano Pavarotti – "It’s A Man’s World," 2002

The "Godfather of Soul" and the "King of the High Cs" joined forces for an odd but electrifying live rendition of one of James Brown’s most notable hits. In the concert video, Brown refrains from breaking out in his patented dance moves, and seems to be blown away by the vocal range of the classical giant.

7. Wyclef Jean and Kenny Rogers – “The Gambler (Remix),” 2000

All you really have to do is read a sample of the lyrics (mostly sung by Rogers, who sounds like he was held hostage in the studio), and you know how this excruciatingly painful remix is going to go:

"You got to know when to hold ’em/Know when to fold ’em (soundbwoys)/Know when to walk away/Know when to run.. (hey, hey, hey, hey..)/You got to count your dub-plates/before you touch the turntables (DJ’s)/Cause if you run out of big tunes/That means your sound is done."

Consider yourself warned.

6. Lou Reed and Metallica, "Lulu," 2011

I will speak on behalf of fans of both legendary artists and say, please, never again. This disaster of a project came about after they performed together at the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame concert in 2009, and likely after way too many backstage shots of Gran Patrón.

5. Eddie Murphy and Michael Jackson, “Whatzupwitu” (1993)

The King of Pop inexplicably agreed to an appearance on a single for Eddie’s third and last musical album. It didn’t help – the song and disc was a critical and commercial disaster (not unlike his film career at the time). Unfortunately for Michael, he also appeared in the video for the horrific single, so the embarrassment was visually documented as well.

4. Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith, "Walk This way," 1986

It was deemed to be a crazy and controversial collaboration (rock fans considered it blasphemy), but turned out to be a career saver for Aerosmith and made Run-DMC an MTV staple. It was also instrumental in popularizing the new rap-rock subgenre, which spawned tons more mash-ups, including Anthrax and Public Enemy, Big Pun and Incubus, Rage Against the Machine and Cypress Hill, Linkin Park and Jay-Z, and the whole "Judgment Night" soundtrack.

3. Eminem & Elton John, "Stan," 2001

This much-hyped (and gripping) duet at the Grammy Awards pissed off a lot of people. Slim Shady was being targeted by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation due to his homophobic lyrics, and they had actually protested outside the Grammy Awards because of his participation. What’s the best way of thumbing your nose at the protests? Get Elton John to help you out. The two have been close friends ever since, but have not worked together again.

2. Ozzy Osbourne and Miss Piggy – “Born To Be Wild”

"Stick around babe, we’re gonna rock the place down. Come on!" I mean, really Ozzy, did you have to wind Miss Piggy up more than she already is? The Muppets have had a lot of wacky collabs with musical stars, but none crazier than this Steppenwolf classic with the Prince of Darkness.

It all ends with Miss Piggy asking the Ozzman to "get off the floor." Some things never change.

The oddest of musical partnerships also happens to best one of the best. Even Bowie admitted that he only agreed to do it because "my mom liked him." Because the Thin White Duke didn’t particularly like "Little Drummer Boy," he opted to add a new "Peace on Earth" section with Bing doing the classic holiday song. They nailed it after just an hour of rehearsals.

Sadly, Bing died 5 weeks after they performed the song.

There are many that were on the bubble. They include Bob Dylan and Kurtis Blow, Celine Dion and R. Kelly, Jack White and Insane Clown Posse, Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis, Sonic Youth and Cypress Hill and Dave Grohl and Norah Jones.

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